


12 Days of Christmas

by AlyssAlenko



Series: A little bit of Shenko Paradise [41]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alcohol, Best Friends, Boy band Christmas songs, Christmas, Christmas Special, Christmas Spirit, Drinking, Experiments, F/M, Family, Fireworks, Fluff, Food, Gifts, Happy Ending, Innuendo, It's a Wonderful Life, Kissing, Love, Midnight Kiss, Mistletoe, New Year's Eve, New Year's Resolutions, Post-War, Romantic Atmosphere, Sappiness, Science, Shenko - Freeform, Snow, Ugly Sweaters, Violin carol of the bells, White Christmas, Winter Wonderland, a toast, back track, ball drop on Times' Square, booze, carols, celebration, decorations, good cheer, happiness, holiday spirit, krogan snowball fights, movies - Freeform, perfect gifts for everyone, spreading good cheer, the gang's all here, tradition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-13 09:16:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 7,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9117022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyssAlenko/pseuds/AlyssAlenko
Summary: So I know I’m super behind on this 12 days of Mass Effect Christmas Event but I’m trying desperately to catch up–this is in a set of twelves chapters, it’s all going to go in chronological order which is nice. I was going to post it all together but I at least want it up before the event ends. :)





	1. Decorations

Kaidan watched her from afar as she strung up the lights and danced about to the music she was blasting all over the ship; he’d never been one for boy bands, but they did seem to have the catchy tunes for Christmas music. And they weren’t the traditional songs one heard all over the place this time of year. Maybe that was why he liked them, even if Alyss insisted on playing them on repeat—as long as she was happy, he wasn’t going to say anything about it.  
  
In the past few years, there hadn’t been enough moments like this.  
  
She stood on her tiptoes and stretched to try and hang the lights up higher, the ladder she was on teetered precariously. He could feel his heart hammering in his throat as he made a run for it, catching her as her foot slipped and the ladder slid out of reach. She grinned up at him and kissed his cheek, wondering how long he’d been watching her, with worry lines creasing his forehead; she ran her fingers gently across them, smoothing them out. Next time she’d use her biotics for those hard to reach corners.  
  
“My hero.” Alyss teased.  
  
Kaidan rolled his eyes as he set her on the ground, brushing the glitter from her navy blue sweater from his civvies.  
  
“Do you need help with anything?”  
  
The evil grin on her face made him worry a little. Usually when she looked like that, she had something planned for Joker, the two of them sometimes did awful things to each other in the name of practical jokes. Her lavender eyes were sparkling with mischief and he just shook his head, wondering what he’d gotten himself into when he’d offered her his assistance. She shoved a large box into his hands.  
  
“Can you deck the cockpit out in these? Try to get as much glitter and tinsel in Joker’s chair as possible.”  
  
“How about I finish up here, and you put your glitter in his chair. I don’t want to be in the middle.”  
  
That was probably smart.  
  
She held a sprig of mistletoe above his head, kissing him before pressing it into his hand and heading to the cockpit—hopefully he’d hang it somewhere the two of them were bound to get caught together often. Decorating was her favorite part of Christmas; the Normandy was decked out in multicolored lights that twinkled in and out, silver garland hung from the rafters, sprigs of red holly berries and their green leaves added a sprinkling of color, and she’d thrown fake glitter snow everywhere. The ship was a winter wonderland—the only place she had left to do was the cockpit, and finding places for all the wreaths she’d collected.  
  
EDI was the best secret weapon in her arsenal—the AI had dragged Joker off the ship so she could study more human behavior on the Citadel, and would let Shepard know when they were heading back. She had the bridge to herself to decorate how she saw fit, though she wasn’t sure if one box of fake glitter snow was going to be enough...not with the amount she wanted in Joker’s chair. She shrugged and began attaching a wreath to the back of his headrest; she could always have Kaidan or James bring her another box if need be.  
  
She would be the first to admit she’d probably gotten a little carried away, but she’d been having so much fun. Wasn’t that what Christmas was all about? Spending time with loved ones and spreading good cheer?  
  
Two strings of multicolored lights blinked on and off around the room, tinsel hung off the wreaths and the arms of the pilot’s chair, two small nativity scenes sat on the consoles, and Joker’s chair as well as the floor was blanketed in white. Kaidan let out a low whistle as he wrapped his arms around her waist, chin on her shoulder as he looked around at all she had accomplished; she’d really outdone herself. There was a large grin on her face—Joker was going to be shaking glitter off his clothes for weeks.  
  
“It looks amazing, Alyss.” He kissed her cheek, lovingly, his stubble scratching against her skin.  
  
“I can’t wait to see his reaction.” She giggled turning in his arms. “Now where did you hang that mistletoe?”  
  
She smiled up at him as she batted her long black eyelashes innocently, making him chuckle; nothing about her was innocent, and she knew it. Something beeped. The sound of the airlock doors opening behind them made her smirk as Kaidan led her through the CIC, one hand on her waist, the other interlocking his fingers through hers; the beeping had been EDI’s signal that they were back. Joker was grumbling under his breath about something or other, but stopped dead the moment he turned towards his chair to see the wintery scene laid out before him.  
  
“ALYSS!” He bellowed.  
  
She bit her lower lip, giddily...what a perfect way to start the holiday season.


	2. Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here’s day 2 of the 12 days of ME Christmas prompt. This whole thing is going to take place after the Reaper war so I don’t have to deal with them feeling guilty that they are celebrating while people are dying. I wanted it to be happy. :)

Kaidan had insisted on going to visit his parents before things got too crazy around the holidays, but she was glad she came—Vancouver looked like the winter she’d created on board the Normandy. There was color everywhere, a roaring fire and a very tall tree being decorated by all their friends—not that they knew what they were doing...Christmas was a human holiday after all. But they were having fun and spending time together, and that was the whole point. Alyss smiled and took another sip of her hot chocolate, a pair of warm arms wrapped around her waist—Kaidan smelled like pine, and she loved it.  
  
“It's going to snow some more.” She whispered, looking away from the window she was in front of.  
  
“How can you tell?”  
  
“You can’t smell that? There’s a subtle change in the air.”  
  
Kaidan kissed her forehead. The first time she’d been around snow was in a blizzard on Noveria three years ago when they’d had to trek out to Peak 15 after Matriarch Benezia, but now she could smell it? She was full of surprises. The two of them kept their backs to the window for the time being, watching Joker attach a sprig of holly to his hat, Zaeed wrapping lights around Jessie and setting the gun on the mantle, Samara floating the star to the top of the tree, and across the room in the kitchen, Tali and Liara were making cookies. They’d all warmed up to the holiday well enough.  
  
They’d be lucky to have any cookies with the way Grunt and Wrex were eating them, trying to be sneaky, unfortunately for them Krogan were anything but stealthy. Kasumi materialized right next to them, startling them both, though by now they should have expected it considering she did the same thing every time they had a get together. She was staring out the window, her eyes wide; everyone turned at her loud gasp of surprise, her face pressed against the glass. Miranda nearly dropped her mug of hot chocolate as Jack stood from unwrapping ornaments for the tree.  
  
“It’s snowing!” Kasumi cried.  
  
When they’d gotten to Vancouver the snow was already blanketing the ground, under a clear night sky full of stars. It hadn’t snowed since before they’d touched down, and there had been no sign that it was going to happen—no one had expected it to fall...no one but Alyss. Kaidan stared at her in awe. She was amazing, and he learned something new about her every day...little things that only exacerbated his love for her. She grinned and set her mug down, running to grab her coat off the hook by the door, pulling her gloves out of the pockets and slipping them on, everyone following suit; Kaidan ahead of everyone—she was four and a half months pregnant and he worried. He couldn’t help it.  
  
A snowball went whizzing past his head, smacking Garrus in the face, making the girls giggle, and Javik mutter something about primitives. Alyss shrugged as he shook it off, bending down to scoop up a handful of snow and packing it tightly, hurling it at her like he’d hurled the bottles when they were having their shooting contest. Grunt shoved his way through the door—if he didn’t get to hurl projectiles at Shepard and everyone else, he was going to be grumbling about it for the rest of the night; it was soon an all-out snowball war as the snowflakes drifted down in lazy patterns.  
  
Bringing the Krogans in had made it amazing, and the fact that they were now making snow angels made it that much better. Even if they were all going to be cold and wet when they finally went inside—but that was what the fire was for. It was nice that they could all do things like this, spend time together and just have fun and forget the rest of the galaxy for a little while, without a care in the world since the end of the war with the Reapers. They were all acting like little kids. Alyss stood up carefully, so as not to damage her snow angel, and approached Kaidan; he opened his arms for her and wrapped her in a warm hug.  
  
He hadn’t expected her to shove snow down the back of his coat. She grinned, and Kaidan didn’t feel the need to warn her about the snowballs Jacob and Liara had aimed at her back—revenge was sweet and a dish best served cold. She flinched as they made contact with the back of her neck, some snow trickling down into her shirt, but she knew she deserved it. Joker, Garrus, Zaeed and Jack were building a Fort as EDI and Samara made a bunch of perfectly symmetrical snowballs for them to use as ammo, Wrex, James and Grunt making balls the size of their heads, as Kasumi, Steve, Kolyat, Tali, Oriana and Miranda started building a snowman on the outskirts of the fray. This was the best gift she could ask for: everyone together and having fun.


	3. Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard has gotten everyone the best gifts for the holidays, all of them meaningful and heartfelt. She would definitely win the award for best gift giver...

It had taken her forever to find that one perfect gift for everyone—but she’d finally succeeded and was wrapping them as she hummed along with her boy band Christmas songs in the background. It was late, and everyone else was in bed, exhausted after their shenanigans out in the falling snow but she was wired. Christmas was her favorite time of year and she went all out. The wrapping paper crinkled under her touch, bringing her back to the task at hand—this was the last one and then she could daydream all she wanted, as she watched the snow fall in lazy swirls again.  
  
“You coming to bed?” Kaidan asked from the doorway.  
  
She looked up from writing Joker’s name on the package and smiled up at him, beckoning him closer with a crook of her finger. His hair was mussed, he’d obviously fallen asleep waiting for her, and woken to find she still hadn’t come up—part of her felt a little guilty and so she set Joker’s present under the tree, and took his offered hand, letting him lead her up the stairs to bed. Miraculously, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillows.  
  
Loud voices and peals of laughter roused her from sleep—at least everyone seemed excited about something or other; it was Christmas after all. She sat bolt upright, jostling Kaidan awake and threw her legs over the side of the bed. It was Christmas! Dressing quickly to overcome the chill in the air, in a green sweater with a large red and green plaid bow and poinsettias with beaded centers, a black miniskirt, and knee high red socks with green stripes, and white polka dots and white fur trim at the top, she threw open the door. At the top of the balcony she saw everyone sitting on the sofas, stockings, gifts and glasses of juice in their hands, waiting for her and Kaidan to appear so they could unwrap them.  
  
Oriana apparently got to play Santa and handed both of them a box when they got close enough hers was rather large, and the tag said it was from Kaidan. She couldn’t wait to see what was inside, and gently tugged the paper off the box and opened it to reveal a violin case. She felt the tears welling up behind her eyes as she stared at a brand new mahogany violin, the one thing she hadn’t been able to replace after she went down with the Normandy because the Citadel didn’t have one, and then the Reapers hit earth. She’d come to terms with the fact that she was never going to have one again, and set it gently aside to throw her arms around his neck. Everyone had been waiting for her to open her gift first before they proceeded to tear into their packages. A collective gasp arose as they all saw what she’d gotten them—gifts so heartfelt and meaningful to the one person they’d never be lost or given away; she’d spent a lot of time and credits making this happen, though a couple of them she may have to explain.  
  
“Shep, you’re the best!” Kasumi cried, holding up a stack of ten of the best and trashiest romance novels Alyss could find. “How did you find these? No one sells paperbacks anymore!”  
  
“It took some digging, but I found a twenty-first century novelty store tucked away from the war and they had all kinds of things.”  
  
Miranda was staring at a small key in her hand, one eyebrow raised. “What’s the key for?”  
  
Alyss smiled—this was the best one. “I felt bad for basically ruining your life—Cerberus was practically all you’d known, and you betrayed them for me, and ended up on the run from both The Illusive Man and the Alliance. Admiral Hackett granted you a full pardon, so I thought it’d be nice to have somewhere to put down roots...somewhere near Oriana. Keep looking. You’ll find all the details of your new home at the bottom of the box.”  
  
“This Nexus model isn’t even the market yet! How did you get it?” Tali exclaimed after making a thorough examination of the omnitool she’d unwrapped.  
  
“Neither is this Sniper scope!” Garrus added, picking it up in his talons and turning it every which way.  
  
“The perks of being a Spectre, and a Councilor—I pulled some strings.”  
  
James and Grunt high-fived when they saw that both of their gifts were dinosaur related, James had t-rex dumbbells, and Grunt had a display diorama of a t-rex taking on a thresher maw; their gifts the two silly ones, but still coinciding with their interests. Liara had a vintage excavating kit from Earth; Jack had a photo of herself and her students etched in metal; Traynor a brand new toothbrush, lord she’d owed that woman one; while Cortez had a Kodiak shuttle model making kit and Oriana had a framed copy of the Crucible schematics she’d worked on with her sister—ones that had served to bring the two of them closer.  
  
The next few made their recipients misty-eyed—she’d found Zaeed an exact replica of Jesse, same make and model and in working condition...if he couldn’t take Jesse into battle, he could at least feel like he was. Samara didn’t dare ask how Shepard had attained a picture of Morinth, Ria, and Falere smiling happily together before they discovered that all three of them were Ardat-Yakshis, but she cherished it all the same. Wrex stared at his family’s armor they’d retrieved together all those years ago, fully restored and functional should he choose to wear it, as Javik read over Prothean scribblings she’d recovered from Mars and Ilos, transcribing them herself, and Kolyat held a bust of his father close to his heart, trying not to cry. Jacob ran his fingers over the nameplate from his dad’s ship—he may have been upset with how things with his father turned out, but he still missed him.  
  
Joker and EDI’s gifts went hand in hand—a scale replica of the Normandy for EDI, and 3D blueprints of the original Normandy for Joker. He set it down carefully and hobbled over to her throwing his arms around his best friend; it was perfect. Shepard closed her arms around him and the two of them stood like that for a moment...they’d been through so much together and it was a miracle that they were standing here together. Kaidan was the last one to open his gift and he nearly dropped it in surprise. A pair of baby booties were mounted on a plaque, painted in a pink enamel with white accents.  
  
“Alyss, is it a girl?”  
  
She nodded without hesitation, grinning. “It’s a girl.”


	4. Holiday Spirits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alyss made Christmas breakfast for every one and tells them all how much she deeply appreciates them all indulging her holiday fever. Joker thinks its sickeningly sweet and wants to hurl.

“I swear, Joker...If you eat anymore bacon, I’m going to kick you in the shin. Save some for everyone else.” Alyss muttered.  
  
“But I’m hungry now.”  
  
She smacked the back his hand with the spatula she was using to flip pancakes, as he reached across her to the plate piled high with turkey bacon for everyone except Tali and Garrus—they had their own dextro-friendly plate. She was making breakfast for everyone and hadn’t even started on dinner; everyone’s families would be there later to celebrate the holidays with them, but she’d made all their friends come over a day early so they could be together first. Kaidan looked up from where he was cutting fruit, laughing at their exchange.  
  
Shepard rolled her eyes and pushed him gently to the island counter of their vacation home’s kitchen, steering him away from the bacon. There were too many people for him to keep eating as she cooked though this should’ve been expected. If he was going to be in the kitchen the least he could do was set the table and help out with the transporting of food from one location to another.

“Why don’t you go take these out and label them? Dextro-friendly for Tali and Garrus, and lactose-free for Kasumi. Save me a headache.”  
  
She pointed to each pancake plate in turn; she’d be damned if she let anyone get sick on her watch—she and Kaidan had been cooking for the last half hour, making sure there was something for everyone. They were finally on the home stretch. When all was said and done, and everyone was sitting around the dining room table eating and laughing, Alyss stood clinking her fork gently against the side of her glass of apple juice.  
  
All eyes turned to her, the hubbub dying down.  
  
“I just wanted to thank you all for clearing your schedules to be here yesterday and today, and to tell you how much it means to me that we can all be here together. Being surrounded by loved ones, both physically…” Her eyes flicked to the portraits of Ashley, Thane, Legion, Anderson, Mordin and Jenkins along the wall. “...and in spirit, is what makes Christmas for me.”  
  
A collective ‘aw’ rippled through those assembled at the table, aside from Joker who pretended to gag.  
  
“Aw gross. Who’s the sap and what did she do with my best friend?” He joked.  
  
She rolled her eyes as she smirked, setting her glass down and reaching over to grab his face, kissing his cheek; he made a show of wiping it off amidst raucous laughter. He was deflecting his feelings the only way he knew how...with sarcasm and humor, and they all knew it. Honestly, he was just as happy as Kaidan that she was back and they could do this at all, but he wasn’t going to wear his heart on his sleeve if he could help it. He reached over and grabbed Tali’s emergency induction port out of her drink and flicked the juice at Alyss, before poking her with the straw and making her shriek.  
  
“You’re so lucky Shepard gave me a whole box of those in my stocking, you little bosh’tet.”  
  
Joker just grinned as Tali pulled out a clean straw, not wanting to chance the one he’d taken from her; her immune system still not quite up to snuff, even if the Geth were doing an amazing job helping the quarians not need their suits anymore. She was away far too much, being on the Normandy with Shepard and Garrus almost all the time...though her system had adapted to contact with him. For now, that was enough. She wasn’t going to let herself get sick, not when she was having so much fun with this human holiday called ‘Christmas.’  
  
“Merry Christmas, Lola!” James raised his glass towards her.  
  
“Merry Christmas, Shepard!” Everyone said, lifting their glasses.  
  
She couldn’t stop beaming.


	5. Ugly Sweaters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wrex can't figure out how he always lets Shepard talk him out of his armor and into some weird Earth garments for her amusement. But she insists it's tradition, and everyone else is wearing them...

This was the weirdest human custom. Everyone thought that Shepard and the other humans were pulling their chains that during Christmas time they decked themselves out in the oddest fashion, in reds, golds, greens, whites, and silvers. But research had proved it to be true, though no one understood the purpose. Shepard herself was already decked thusly: a green sweater with a large red and green plaid bow with gold and silver trim and poinsettias with beaded centers, a black miniskirt, and knee high red socks with green stripes, and white polka dots and white fur trim at the top made her outfit complete.  
  
Wrex pulled at the collar of his sweater. Somehow Shepard always seemed to be able to get him out of his armor and into something that made him feel far too vulnerable; first that murder mystery party three years ago, and now something the humans so quaintly called ‘ugly sweaters.’ The patterns were garish but in their own way they were kind of charming and fun; not that the bad tempered krogan would ever admit something like that out loud. Alyss had insisted, and once again somehow had a garment in everyone’s size.  
  
One day everyone would figure out how she did that…  
  
She popped out of the kitchen after checking on how everything was cooking, leaning leisurely against the wall, her hand resting delicately on her slightly swollen stomach as she watched everyone enjoying their gifts. Grunt had a hanar plushie in an ugly Christmas sweater after he’d drunkenly stated at their fantastic Citadel party that he was sad that hanar couldn’t wear sweaters, but apparently they could—at least a stuffed one could. She was one of the few who’d been wearing her Christmas outfit already and had strong-armed everyone else into it, claiming it was tradition; she wanted a picture later. She loved being able to get her way.  
  
“You all look so fabulous!” She cried, clapping her hands together in excitement.  
  
“Can we get this over with?” Garrus grumbled, rolling his shoulders.  
  
Her eyes caught his and she grinned. Wrex had been the last one she’d been waiting on to get into his sweater, and now that he was ready, she could finally get a picture of everyone in their fun holiday outfits...and hold it over their heads forever. Alyss ushered everyone over to the sofa, and sat down in the exact middle, her hand resting delicately on Kaidan’s thigh where he sat next to her. They all crowded around her, like they had at the Citadel party, posing, with various expressions littered throughout. This was going to be her Christmas card for years to come.  
  
She made them take a few pictures, before darting back into the kitchen as her oven timer went off, signaling it was time for basting.  
  
“Anyone want to see if I can rip through this ugly sweater by flexing?” James asked once the picture was finished.  
  
Kasumi and Jack grinned.  
  
“Yes, please.” They said in unison.  
  
It was one of the few times the two of them had torn their attention away from Kasumi’s stack of romance novels, the first being breakfast and the second being the picture.


	6. Carols

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alyss has been playing boy band Christmas songs on repeat for three days, and everyone is ready for a change of music, hopefully some classic Christmas carols, but in a different way than normal thanks to her present from Kaidan...
> 
> (these are my Boyband Christmas songs--not gonna lie, they're the bomb)  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmW8zXeBd0E  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xqVpyX8IME  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhgR2CKZyJE  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7yqyj-Djlo  
> Plus a violin Carol of the Bells  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIn5bdG4ha4

“ _I always try to be as nice as I could...but underneath the mistletoe it’s hard to be good. I couldn’t resist, it was just one kiss; now Santa Claus put me on the naughty list_.”  
  
She’d finished belting out the first chorus, as she danced around the kitchen, before the music stopped abruptly, mid-stanza. Her eyebrows shot up her forehead, and after resetting the timer she rushed out of the kitchen as a girl belted out a pop version of ‘White Christmas’. She was very particular about her carols, only listening to certain versions of the songs, and the version of ‘White Christmas’ playing was not Bing Crosby, and she didn’t want to listen to it.  
  
“I told you that’d get her out here.” Joker was grinning from ear-to-ear.  
  
He was holding the universal remote that controlled almost everything in the house, from lights to music.  
  
“Change it back!” Alyss laughed.  
  
She approached Joker, hand outstretched, but he tossed it around her to James and the two of them engaged in a game of keep away. They’d turned off her loop of boy band Christmas songs to some of the more classic ones and refused to let her have control over the music any longer. They both shook their heads. The control pad soared across the room, landing in James’ waiting hands; she put her hands on her hips, as she frowned. She got that the loop was annoying, but they couldn’t change it to her other list with her favorite versions of the classic carols?  
  
“Come on Lola, sing some Christmas carols with us.”  
  
“I don’t sing in front of people, Vega.” She shook her head fervently.  
  
“That’s not entirely true…” Kaidan interjected. “You sang karaoke with the crew on your birthday nearly three years ago.”  
  
Her jaw dropped open in surprise, and she turned towards her fiancé. “You are riding a horse named Betrayal!”  
  
Everyone burst out into laughter—she’d made the same argument about not singing in front or people back then, and yet had somehow gotten up on that make-shift stage and poured her heart out to Kaidan through her song. Though at the time the two of them had desperately tried to deny their attraction to each other, but she’d sung right to him that night. Tali held out Alyss’ violin. If she wasn’t going to sing, she could at least play her instrument a little; she smiled wistfully as she ran her fingers along the strings and the wood, before taking the violin into her hands.  
  
It had been almost three years and she may be a little rusty, but she tucked it under her chin after running her bow over the rosin, and drew it across the strings; she began playing the Carol of the Bells. She closed her eyes letting the music flow through her, her body swaying in time with the tune, slowly picking up speed as she got back in the groove of things again. Kaidan felt a stirring in his heart as he watched her for what wasn’t the first time that day. He didn’t think he could be more in love with her than he was.  
  
He didn’t care where they were, or who they were with—being with her was what made his holiday season bright.


	7. Mistletoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rules of mistletoe are quite clear and when Shepard catches Kaidan standing underneath it, she uses her advantage to the fullest...

She thought she'd hidden the hat Joker had attached the holly sprig to when they were decorating, but apparently, he had found it. He was wearing it around like it was mistletoe, and either he didn’t know any better, or he was using it to his advantage that almost no one else did. She beckoned him over with a crook of her finger, smacking the bill of his hat down when he got close enough, smiling as she did so.  
  
“You know you’ve been wearing a holly hat right?”  
  
He nodded. “I do, but they don’t.”  
  
Joker wiggled his eyebrows at her and pointed at the hat. “The rules of mistletoe are quite clear, Ms. Shepard—you owe me a kiss.”  
  
“Well, Mr. Moreau, the rules of mistletoe may be clear, but seeing as it’s holly, I’m allowed to bend them.”  
  
Alyss rolled her eyes as she laughed, tugging on his beard gently and kissing his cheek, before turning him around and placing her hands on his back as she shoved him towards the others, gently. He always knew just what to do to make her laugh. Her eyes drifted around the room, landing on Kaidan where he lounged against the snack table...he had an actual sprig of mistletoe above his head, and from the looks of his conversation with Wrex and Garrus, he had no idea. She couldn’t even remember hanging it up there.  
  
She sauntered over to the three of them, and slipped her arm around Kaidan’s leaning up against him, her cheek resting against his shoulder. He looked down at her, smiling softly—it should be illegal for someone to be this happy. Alyss pointed upwards during a lull in the conversation and Kaidan followed her gaze, his eyes going wide when he realized that they were under the mistletoe together; she grinned at him and shrugged. Rules were rules.  
  
He took her into the circle of his arms, one hand on her lower back, one between her shoulder blades as he dipped her backwards, her left leg locking itself around his right. She was pressed snugly up against as much of his body as she could reach, one hand wrapping around his neck, the other resting delicately on his pectoral over his clothes. Kaidan licked his lips, eyes darting down to her mouth. He’d been longing to kiss her for ages, to taste her on his lips but with everyone here and her balancing playing hostess and cooking, they hadn’t had a moment and so he leaned down to cover her mouth with his own.  
  
His tongue teased the seam of her lips, and they opened of their own volition, letting him slip inside to collect her flavors and at one point he didn’t know where her breathing ended and his began. He felt her fingers curl where they rested against him, and he couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. His touch made her melt and her heart pound faster in her chest—this was quite possibly the best mistletoe kiss she’d ever had.  
  
His lips hungrily sought hers again, as someone cleared their throat.  
  
“Get a room.” Joker pretended to gag.

She wanted to, but the oven timer went off for the last time. Kaidan released her reluctantly and side-stepped out from under the mistletoe—getting caught by her was one thing, but he didn’t need to get caught by everyone else too. Wrex and Garrus muttered something about weird human traditions, without any active dislike; they were just glad that at last Shepard was finally happy. Kaidan better take good care of her or they’d give him hell and he’d be spitting teeth for weeks.


	8. Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone's folks have arrived, bringing with them some traditional holiday grub, and Alyss loves that she was able to cater to the special needs of everyone--though the dish Wrex brought makes her question the genius of this. Joker also makes a thirty-two year old Alyss get scolded by her mother at the table...

The table was set beautifully. A golden turkey sat in the middle; mashed potatoes; gravy; a salad; stuffing: rolls; roasted broccoli and cauliflower; something Wrex swore was edible but looked like a Klixen and she wasn’t going to touch it with a pole, let alone eat it; and a Dextro-amino protein paste she’d made specifically for Garrus and Tali because their bodies didn’t process meat like the rest of them. At least it was flavorful unlike the stuff they find anywhere else.  
  
Grunt had brought those spicy noodles he’d been so fond of, and Liara had brought a calamari gumbo, the one Alyss remembered Rupert Gardner mentioning adapting a recipe from when they were on board the SR2. Aside from Wrex’s dish, she was going to try it all, but the other dishes would serve as buffers for her human compatriots not brave enough to try the alien dishes.  
  
Her folks had brought a Dutch apple pie with oatmeal streusel she couldn’t wait to tuck into, seeing as it was her favorite dish from childhood...and she had iced sugar cookies and a dual layer pumpkin cheesecake she’d made, waiting for after dinner. Alyss’ sweet tooth was also going to be satisfied by the Christmas cake Kasumi had brought: a moist sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries. The snowball cookies James had made, had her salivating just thinking about it.  
  
Everyone was gathered around the table, joking and laughing with the rest of their families, the festivities had turned in a different direction once all their other guests had arrived. It was nice to see everyone so happy as they ate. Kaidan smirked as her as she helped herself to more mashed potatoes—her second heaping helping, pointing with his fork as he swallowed some turkey. He hadn’t been aware of how much she loved potatoes until now.  
  
“Would you like some turkey with your mashed potatoes?” He teased.  
  
He leaned over and kissed her cheek, lovingly, his lips lingering for a split second longer than necessary, but he didn’t mind their PDA; they were engaged and she was pregnant, they were allowed a little indulgence now and then. She rolled her eyes, shoving his shoulder playfully. It was almost the same thing she’d asked Joker when he’d covered everything on his plate in gravy—apparently the holidays were an excuse for it for him; they were all pretty sure if they gave him a straw and the gravy boat he’d be content.  
  
“I’m fine, thanks.” She grinned.  
  
Alyss rested her hand innocently on his thigh under the table, looking out over their assembled guests, sitting around the table. She dug into the mountain of mashed potatoes on her plate, smiling as she gave his leg a gentle squeeze. She had to have done something right in her life to deserve a moment with everyone like this. Kaidan covered her hand with his own. Joker glanced over at them and motioned between the two of them with his fork.  
  
“Guys we’re eating. Have some decorum.”  
  
Her mashed potatoes hit his cheek with a satisfying splat, dripping down into his beard; every jaw at the table dropped open in surprise. A heavy, shocked, silence hung in the air around the table as Joker wiped at his face furiously trying to get it off as Shepard giggled evilly. Hannah Shepard was the first to recover to the fact that her thirty-two-year-old daughter had not only wasted food, but she’d flung it _at_ someone.  
  
“Alyss Shepard!” She scolded.  
  
“He started it.” Alyss shrugged.


	9. Liquid Spirits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard gets to watch everyone's different stages of drunkenness after dinner with the families, seeing as she is unable to imbibe alcohol like the rest of them due to the life growing inside her...

She sighed and took a sip of her sparkling cider. Everyone else had hit the alcohol pretty hard after dinner, but seeing as she had a little baby girl growing inside of her, alcohol was off the table for the next fourteen months. It was a good thing she liked sparkling cider. Steve, Jacob, Kaidan, James and Joker were having a drinking contest, seeing who would be the last one on their feet—Kaidan drunk was actually fun...he always got super touchy-feely with her, always seeking her out, which led to other things when they could escape for a few stolen moments.  
  
Grunt, Wrex and Garrus had brought ryncol that she probably should’ve confiscated, the two krogan looking ready to fight...or break something—though those two things could be one in the same if they had their way. Garrus got chatty when drunk, talking anyone’s ear off about the calibrations he was currently doing to improve the Normandy, not even stopping when their eyes glazed over. Jack and Miranda were arm wrestling while Tali and Samantha watched, and Kasumi and was darting between all the groups recording everything, while giggling uncontrollably.  
  
She probably shouldn’t have let EDI mix drinks at the bar…  
  
Oh well.  
  
It was weird to see the different stages of everyone’s drunkenness, but seeing as she was the sober Sally for the night, she got a front row seat. Not that she minded. She brought her glass to her lips, watching Tali drink her alcohol through a straw and chat with Miranda. She was really hoping that Jack didn’t convince Tali to forego the omni-tattoo for a real one...the last thing she needed was the quarian to get an infection because in a drunken stupor she’d listened to Jack. Kaidan sauntered over to her and threw his arm around her shoulders.  
  
“Hey there.” He grinned at her, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Come here often?”  
  
She snorted with laughter. If it hadn’t been Kaidan asking, that line never would’ve worked on her, but even though he was a cheesy flirt right now she couldn't love him more. She pushed his shoulder playfully—when they had a moment, she was going to drag him upstairs, away from the hubbub for a little while and kiss him senseless. But for now, they were going to sit back and enjoy the party; she slipped her arm around Kaidan’s leaning up against him and resting her head on his shoulder as they watched their friends and family members having fun together in the spirit of the season.


	10. New Year's Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard and Company are ready to ring in the new year with, the traditional countdown, fireworks and midnight kiss. Somehow she got talked into letting Zaeed, Garrus, Jack, Joker and James set off the fireworks, but her perfect celebration goes off without a hitch...

No one could figure out how they had let James, Jack, Garrus, Zaeed and Joker be in charge of the fireworks...it was a disaster just waiting to happen. But they’d all really wanted to do the fireworks and ring in the new year, so no one had been able to tell them ‘no’. She flopped back on the wet lawn in her rain gear, sad the snow had washed away—even though she’d known that them actually getting a white Christmas had been slim to none, but they’d had one and she should be happy. Now here they were less than a week later with almost nothing but rain.  
  
A firework streaked across the sky, it’s starting point less than two feet away from where Jack was standing; she grinned and lit off another one as the first one exploded in a shower of orange and pink sparks, lighting up the surrounding area. It was half an hour to midnight and they had a lot of fireworks to go through—Alyss had been stockpiling them for a month like she had with her Halloween pumpkins. So why not start the celebrating a little early? There was no harm, as long as they had one left to set off during her midnight kiss with Kaidan...she’d made that very clear to everyone who was playing with fire.  
  
He’d blushed crimson.  
  
It was one New Year’s tradition she hadn’t ever put much stock in, only actually doing the midnight kiss two times before in her life when she’d found someone she really wanted to share it with. With Kaidan, she was going to make sure it became tradition. Five fireworks went off in unison, lighting up the sky in all the colors of the rainbow, and she folded her arms behind her head, smiling up at the show and barely feeling the time pass. This was the perfect way to spend new year’s eve—surrounded by almost everyone she’d ever cared about, watching fireworks and waiting on a kiss from her fiancé.  
  
Kaidan sat down beside her on the grass and pulled up his omnitool when it was almost midnight, zeroing in on the ball dropping in Times Square. Everyone crowded in close except for the five playing with matches and setting off fireworks on the beach. Even though the war had taken its toll, they’d spent three months cleaning up and it looked like the world was finally getting back to normal. Alyss cuddled up to him her head on his shoulder as he made the visual bigger so it was easier for everyone to see.  
  
The countdown had already begun.  
  
“ _FIVE_!”  
  
She lifted her head from his shoulder…  
  
“ _FOUR_!”  
  
He watched her lovingly…  
  
“ _THREE_!”  
  
Her gaze locked with his…  
  
“ _TWO_!”  
  
They both leaned in…  
  
“ _ONE_!”  
  
Their lips connected as everyone on the screen screamed ‘happy new year’, and Jack, Garrus, Zaeed, Joker, and James lit off the last of their fireworks overhead. Kaidan’s hand wound its way through her hair, as she draped her arms about his neck, changing the angle of her mouth to deepen the kiss. She couldn’t have made it more perfect if she’d tried. Even if they missed both the ball actually dropping and exploding into confetti, as well as the fireworks up above, they were content. The two of them were too lost in each other’s touch and had no idea what was going on around them though they were told later, it was all very romantic. What a way to greet the new year and wipe the slate clean.


	11. Goodwill Toward Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard gets started on her new year's resolution as soon as they get back into Citadel space, bringing a certain Salarian to help her and her friends with the research and science experiments she needs to do to achieve her goals.

He’d been searching all over the house for her, and finally found her in one of the upstairs rooms, her black hair pulled up messily on top of her head. The husk skull James loved to play with screamed as he entered the room, making her look up from the microscope she was staring into. He hated that thing. Miranda, Alyss, Liara, Tali, Kolyat and Maelon—he hoped everyone was keeping an eye on the salarian—were occupying different places in the area...it looked like all the things she’d gathered from Dr. Bryson’s lab had been dragged in there; a makeshift laboratory.  
  
She smiled over at him and beckoned him over with a crook of her finger. He sauntered over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist as he nuzzled her neck lovingly. She’d wasted no time getting Maelon to meet her on the Citadel--their shuttle had barely touched down, with Miranda, Liara, Tali, Kolyat, Kaidan and herself stepping off, before she engaged them all in a project. It was odd to see some of the galaxy’s most brilliant minds working together to a achieve a common goal.  
  
Alyss was getting a headstart on her new year’s resolution—a cure for Kepral’s syndrome.  
  
The hand Maelon had in ending the genophage couldn’t be overlooked; Tali and her technical know-how went hand in hand with Miranda and the Lazarus Project to bring Shepard back to life; as the Shadow Broker, Liara had infinite resources to bring them anything they needed, Kolyat was the drell DNA, and Alyss was the perfect mesh of synthetic and organic tissue. When she dreamed, she dreamed big, and he couldn’t be more proud of her. He picked up a petri dish where something small and pink sat, it looked like it was breathing.  
  
“What is this?” He asked.  
  
Her hand covered his. “That is a lung. We grew it using some of my synthetic tissue, a circuit or two, and Kolyat’s DNA; regular lung transplants for those with Kepral’s only prolong the inevitable and also have a chance of being rejected by the host, but what if we took an individual’s own DNA and combined it with synthetic tissue, growing them a new pair of lungs that can’t be rejected and full replacement of the faulty organs, with tech laced through them to make sure they can’t fill with water.”  
  
He drew his finger down her jaw. “You are amazing.”  
  
She glanced over at Kolyat. No one should have to go through what he went through—his father had meant so much to the both of them, and he’d slipped through their fingers. That was why she’d decided that her new year’s resolution would be to find a cure for Kepral’s...not just a treatment, even if it took her the next 364 days to get it right. She was that determined that Thane’s death not be in vain.


	12. Amnesty Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back track to Christmas Eve, where Shepard revisits her old Christmas traditions that she'd had since she was a child, and she strong-arms everyone into watching her two favorite Christmas movies with her. She watches the same ones every year and they're classics...

She sat on the sofa under a blanket, with a cup of hot chocolate warming both of her hands, giggling, as she took a break from all the decorating, and carols, and cheer—It’s a Wonderful Life on the vid screen. She had two movies she watched on Christmas Eve: White Christmas and It’s a Wonderful Life; they were classics and a tradition—who was she to spit in the face of tradition? She’d been watching them since she was little girl. They also gave her an excuse not to go caroling around the neighborhood with Steve, Jacob, Samantha, Kaidan, EDI and Miranda. She’d had enough of singing in front of people to last her a lifetime...or two in her case.  
  
He knew he shouldn’t be jealous that her legs were draped across Joker’s lap—she did it to whomever she sat next to when watching a vid—but he was, even though she was his fiancée and five months pregnant with his child. The carolers had just gotten back to find everyone else sprawled through the living room on various chairs and cushions watching. He had this feeling she had strong-armed everyone into it, but at least they all seemed to be enjoying the movie she chose. He scooched Joker aside and sat next to her on the couch, somehow everyone always let her claim the arm, and gently hung her legs over his as she smiled at him.  
  
“Not fair. Not only did I warm up that spot, you guys are hogging the blanket.” Joker grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
Alyss laughed as she rolled her eyes, sticking her tongue out at him, before kicking the end of the rather large blanket towards him. Part of her had wanted to tell him to deal with it, but then they never hear the end of it and she didn’t want to deal with that in the middle of one of her Christmas favorites. Besides, she didn’t mind sharing. They fell into a comfortable silence, all eyes glued to the vid terminal as the rest of the world outside was still and quiet, the moon shining brightly.

It was almost as if the rest of the world didn’t exist.


End file.
